The present invention relates to a medium-reserving apparatus, and in particular to a medium-reserving apparatus preferably applied to a medium transaction apparatus that can sequentially transfer or deliver paper-like media such as bills, temporarily align and accumulate them inside the apparatus, and hold inside the apparatus the temporarily reserved media or return them in response to an instruction from a higher level.
Bill input machines for paying bills are known. A bill input machine generally includes an input-money separating section for taking bills inputted through a bill input slot in a batch and sequentially separating and delivering them; an input-money discriminating section for determining in a transfer path whether each separated bill is genuine and whether the separation and transfer condition is appropriate, i.e. overlapping or sending bills in series; a branching section for separating inappropriate bills and placing them in an input-bill return path, or permitting the bills to enter a bill temporary storage path if the bills include no inappropriate one; and a temporary storage device that temporarily accumulates the bills to return them in a batch or house them in a housing.
The temporary storage device used in such a bill input machine has, for example, the structure shown in FIGS. 24, 25, 26(a) and 26(b)
FIG. 24 is a schematic explanatory drawing showing an example of a conventional temporary storage device. The illustrated temporary storage device is called the accumulating wheel method and is composed of an accumulating wheel 102 around which a plurality of blades 101 is installed; a transfer roller 104 that feeds bills 103 into the accumulating wheel 102; a transfer belt 105 provided under the accumulating wheel 102; a bill stopper 106 that extracts bills from the accumulating wheel 102; and a belt 107 used to transfer the accumulated bills in a batch.
The accumulating wheel 102 rotates clockwise. A bill 103 transferred in the width direction by the transfer roller 104 is fed between the blades 101 and transferred to the bill stopper 106 while being held therebetween. When the tip of the bill 103 reaches the bill stopper 106, the bill 103 is removed from between the blades 101 and dropped onto the transfer belt 105. The top of the transfer belt 105 constitutes a bill accumulating section on which the transferred bills 103 are sequentially accumulated. The belt 107 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure to press down on the temporarily accumulated bills, which are then transferred while being sandwiched between the belt 107 and the transfer belt 105.
FIG. 25 is a schematic explanatory drawing showing another example of a conventional temporary storage device. The illustrated temporary storage device is known as the impeller method and is composed of a transfer roller 112 around which a plurality of blades 111 is installed; a transfer roller 113 that cooperates with the transfer roller 112 in transferring bills to the inside of the temporary storage device; a belt 114 used to transfer the accumulated bills in a batch; a stage 116 that can be moved in the vertical direction and has transfer rollers 115a, 115b and 115c; and a bill presser 118 that is located in an accumulating section 117 formed between the belt 114 and the stage 116, the free end of which presses down on the top of the stage 116 due to its own weight.
A bill transferred in the longitudinal direction by the transfer rollers 112 and 113 is fed into the accumulating section 117 formed between the belt 114 and the stage 116. At this point, the tip of the bill slides between the bill presser 118 and the stage 116. Once the bill has passed between the transfer rollers 112 and 113, its rear end is struck downward by the blade 111. Thus, the rear end of the bill is constantly pressed downwardly to maintain a space on the accumulated bills in order to prevent the tip of the next bill entering the storage device from colliding against the rear end of the accumulated bills. Upon completion of the accumulation of the bills, the stage 116 rises to press the accumulated bills against the belt 114. The belt 114 is then driven to transfer in a batch the bills sandwiched between the stage 116 and the belt 114.
FIGS. 26(A) and 26(B) are schematic explanatory drawings showing yet another example of a conventional temporary storage device. FIG. 26(A) shows a view from the direction in which bills are transferred, and FIG. 26(B) shows a view from the direction perpendicular to FIG. 26 (A). The illustrated temporary storage device is called the pusher method and is composed of a pusher 121 that moves back and forth in the vertical direction; a transfer belt 122 that transfers bills; a bill receiver 124 constituting a bill housing section 123 for sequentially housing the transferred bills; a transfer belt 126 constituting a bill accumulating section 125 under the bill housing section 123; and a stage 127 that can move in the vertical direction.
When the bills are to be accumulated, the stage 127 has been moved upwardly and stopped immediately below the bill receiver 124. When sequentially transferred by the transfer roller 122 from the direction indicated by the arrow 128 while the pusher 121 is located in an upward position, bills are housed in the bill housing section 123 in such a way that both of their lateral side edges in the transfer direction are received by the bill receiver 124. The bills housed in the bill housing section 123 are pressed downwardly by the pusher 121 and into the bill accumulating section 125 via an opening in the middle of the bill housing section 123, and are then accumulated on the transfer belt 126. The pusher 121 is then raised to its original position to wait for the next bill accumulating operation. By repeating this operation, the transferred bills are sequentially accumulated in the bill accumulating section 125 by the pusher 121. Once a predetermined accumulation has been reached, the stage 127 moves downwardly to the top of the accumulated bills to sandwich the bills between the stage 127 and the transfer belt 126. The belt 126 is then driven to transfer the accumulated bills in a batch.
In the conventional temporary storage devices, in regard to the accumulating wheel method, a bill is inserted between the blades of the accumulating wheel and is transferred while being held between the blades by frictional force. Thus, bills may not be correctly inserted between the blades or may slip out from between the blades and fail to be accumulated at the correct position. In particular, worn-out bills or bills that can no longer be smooth, which are susceptible to buckling and can not be pushed between the blades correctly, may fail to be transferred to the accumulating position correctly.
In addition, in the impeller method, since bills are transferred in such a way that a new bill slides over the surface of the accumulated bills, if the accumulated top bill has a fold in its corner, the new bill will collide with the fold and be prevented from being transferred or accumulated. Furthermore, there are some countries where significantly different sized bills are used. If a short bill is inputted, the blade may fail to strike the rear end of the bill. Thus, if any bill is accumulated with its rear end bent upward due to the failure to strike it, the next bill will collide against it and be prevented from being accumulated correctly.
Furthermore, since the pusher method uses the reciprocating motion of the pusher to sequentially feed into the accumulating section the bills inputted into the housing section, quick accumulation is impossible and a large installation space is required due to the inclusion of the housing and accumulating sections and the reciprocating motion of the pusher, thereby preventing a reduction in size.
This invention has been made in view of these points, and the object is to provide a medium-reserving apparatus that can reliably receive and accumulate media such as bills, even worn-out bills, bills with folded corners, or bills that differ significantly in size.